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Peachey History Early Origins Early History Spelling Variations Early Notables Ranking

Contemporary Notables Related Stories Citations

Peachey History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England

Peachey is a name of ancient Norman origin. It arrived in England with the Norman Conquest of 1066. The Peachey family lived in Kent. It is thought that Peachy is of topographical origin, distinguishing a bearer who lived near a peach tree, sold peaches, or was associated with the fruit in some other way. In French it is written peche, and the addition of the letter y on to the end of the name is probably the result of its Anglicization.

The family was "an ancient baronial family, called in charters, De Peccato. They appear as early as the reign of King Stephen, and they were doubtless of Norman extraction. They were of prime importance in Kent, temp. Edward. I." 1

Early Origins of the Peachey family

The surname Peachey was first found in Kent where the name descends from the baronial name Peche, Latinized De Peccato. One of the oldest recordings of the name is found in a stained glass window at Lullingstone in Kent. 1

Willielmus Peccatum was a Domesday under-tennant in Norfolk, Suffolk and Essex. 2 "William Pecatum was an under-tenant in Norfolk, Suffolk, and Essex. The name may have been altered to Beach and Beachy. It has also been found as Peach and Peachy." 3

"Richard Peché was Bishop of Coventry 1162-1182, and another of the same name was Archdeacon of Malpas in Cheshire. In the course of time, [the name] lapsed into the form of Peachey or Peach. " 4

"Ralph Peche (perhaps William's son) about 1113 received from Roger, the second son of the Earl of Clare, the manor of Birdbrook in Essex ; one of those granted by Gilbert Lord Peche to Edward I.: and in 1134 Hamo Peche, in right of his wife Alice, one of the four sisters and coheirs of William Peverell, was Lord of Brunne in Cambridgeshire, and held a barony of his own in Suffolk of twelve knights' fees. He was Sheriff of Cambridge from 1164 to Easter 1166: and paid scutage on nineteen fees in 1168. He was followed by two sons, Geoffrey and Gilbert. Gilbert's wife was "a sister of that famous Fitz Walter, who led the Barons' party in the time of King John. On Fitz Walter's banishment, she had to find hostages for her loyalty. One of these hostages was her own daughter Alice." 4

Robert Peccin (Peche) was listed in the Pipe Rolls for Hampshire (1176-1177). 5 Sir John Peche (Pecche) (c. 1285-before 1335 in Honiley, Warwickshire) was Lord Warden of the Cinque Ports from 1323 to 1324.

Early History of the Peachey family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Peachey research. Another 111 words (8 lines of text) covering the years 1164, 1671, 1723, 1736, 1737, 1794 and 1808 are included under the topic Early Peachey History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Peachey Spelling Variations

Multitudes of spelling variations are a hallmark of Anglo Norman names. Most of these names evolved in the 11th and 12th century, in the time after the Normans introduced their own Norman French language into a country where Old and Middle English had no spelling rules and the languages of the court were French and Latin. To make matters worse, medieval scribes spelled words according to sound, so names frequently appeared differently in the various documents in which they were recorded. The name was spelled Peachy, Peach, Peache, Peachee, Peachey, Peche and many more.

Early Notables of the Peachey family

Outstanding amongst the family at this time was

Sir Henry Peachey (c.1671-1737), created 1st Baronet Peachey of Petworth in 1736

Peachey Ranking

In the United States, the name Peachey is the 2,203^rd most popular surname with an estimated 14,922 people with that name. 6

Peachey migration to the United States +

Because of this political and religious unrest within English society, many people decided to immigrate to the colonies. Families left for Ireland, North America, and Australia in enormous numbers, travelling at high cost in extremely inhospitable conditions. The New World in particular was a desirable destination, but the long voyage caused many to arrive sick and starving. Those who made it, though, were welcomed by opportunities far greater than they had known at home in England. Many of these families went on to make important contributions to the emerging nations of Canada and the United States. Analysis of immigration records indicates that some of the first North American immigrants bore the name Peachey or a variant listed above:

Peachey Settlers in United States in the 17th Century

William Peachey, who landed in New Jersey in 1677 7

Peachey Settlers in United States in the 18th Century

Henry Peachey, who landed in Virginia in 1701 7
Samuel Peachey, who arrived in Virginia in 1712 7
Daniel Peachey, who settled in Virginia in 1753

Peachey migration to Australia +

Emigration to Australia followed the First Fleets of convicts, tradespeople and early settlers. Early immigrants include:

Peachey Settlers in Australia in the 19th Century

Mr. James Peachey, English convict who was convicted in Cambridge, Cambridgeshire, England for 7 years, transported aboard the "Enchantress"on 6th April 1833, arriving in Tasmania (Van Diemen's Land) 8
James Peachey, who arrived in Adelaide, Australia aboard the ship "Boyne" in 1850 9
Mr. Charles Peachey who was convicted in Chelmsford, Essex, England for 7 years, transported aboard the "Clara" on 19th March 1857, arriving in Western Australia, Australia 10

Peachey migration to New Zealand +

Emigration to New Zealand followed in the footsteps of the European explorers, such as Captain Cook (1769-70): first came sealers, whalers, missionaries, and traders. By 1838, the British New Zealand Company had begun buying land from the Maori tribes, and selling it to settlers, and, after the Treaty of Waitangi in 1840, many British families set out on the arduous six month journey from Britain to Aotearoa to start a new life. Early immigrants include:

Peachey Settlers in New Zealand in the 19th Century

Miss Elizabeth Peachey, British settler travelling from London aboard the ship "Egmont" arriving in Auckland, New Zealand on 14th June 1858 11
John Spencer Peachey, aged 33, a labourer, who arrived in Wellington, New Zealand aboard the ship "Soukar" in 1874
Martha R. Peachey, aged 20, who arrived in Wellington, New Zealand aboard the ship "Soukar" in 1874
Angelina Peachey, aged 10, who arrived in Wellington, New Zealand aboard the ship "Soukar" in 1874
Charles Peachey, aged 7, who arrived in Wellington, New Zealand aboard the ship "Soukar" in 1874
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Contemporary Notables of the name Peachey (post 1700) +

Jeptha H. Peachey (1852-1914), American Republican politician, Member of Pennsylvania State House of Representatives, 1913-14 12
Stuart Peachey, British historian specialising in the English Civil War
David Peachey (b. 1974), former Australian professional rugby league footballer
Allan Peachey (b. 1949), New Zealand politician and Member of Parliament for Tamaki
Melissa "Mel" Peachey (b. 1980), British television personality

Citations +

Lower, Mark Anthony, Patronymica Britannica, A Dictionary of Family Names of the United Kingdom. London: John Russel Smith, 1860. Print.
Williams, Dr Ann. And G.H. Martin, Eds., Domesday Book A Complete Translation. London: Penguin, 1992. Print. (ISBN 0-141-00523-8)
Baring-Gould S., Family Names and their Story. London: Seeley, Service & Co. Limited, 1913. Print
Cleveland, Dutchess of The Battle Abbey Roll with some Account of the Norman Lineages. London: John Murray, Abermarle Street, 1889. Print. Volume 2 of 3
Reaney, P.H and R.M. Wilson, A Dictionary of English Surnames. London: Routledge, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-415-05737-X)
"What are the 5,000 Most Common Last Names in the U.S.?". NameCensus.com, https://namecensus.com/last-names/
Filby, P. William, Meyer, Mary K., Passenger and immigration lists index : a guide to published arrival records of about 500,000 passengers who came to the United States and Canada in the seventeenth, eighteenth, and nineteenth centuries. 1982-1985 Cumulated Supplements in Four Volumes Detroit, Mich. : Gale Research Co., 1985, Print (ISBN 0-8103-1795-8)
Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 20th April 2022). https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/enchantress
State Records of South Australia. (Retrieved 2010, November 5) The barque BOYNE 1850, 521 tons. Retrieved http://www.slsa.sa.gov.au/BSA/1850Boyne.htm
Convict Records of Australia. Retrieved 11th February 2021 from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/clara
New Zealand Yesteryears Passenger Lists 1800 to 1900 (Retrieved 17th October 2018). Retrieved from http://www.yesteryears.co.nz/shipping/passlist.html
The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2016, January 7) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html